News

A lone student at a gathering of the country's academic elite took the unprecedented step of criticizing Leader Ali Khamenei in his presence on Wednesday morning, according to the Office for the Preservation and Publication of the Works of Grand Ayatollah Khamenei and opposition news sites.

The young man, identified as 'a mathematics student at Sharif University and a winner at the International Mathematics Olympiad' by Mowjeh Sabzeh Azadi, made his remarks after the official speakers had completed their speeches and before Khamenei was to make his address. The gathering at Khamenei's complex in north Tehran preceded the 3rd National Conference of Young Elites.

The student spoke for close to 20 minutes despite the protests of some of the spectators. As Khamenei looked on, he critiqued the state radio and television networks; the stifling security climate surrounding the press; the inability to voice criticism against the Supreme Leader; and the power structure in the country embodied by the Guardian Council and the Assembly of Experts, according to Mowjeh Sabzeh Azadi. (complete account of the events)